evergreen Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Well, I guess this is kind of an introduction forum... I don't think my story is terribly interesting, but anyway... My family is Pentecostal. I'm not anymore, though I was a Christian up until a few months short of my 18th birthday (I'm 21 now). I was raised to believe in god, and I did. Was somewhat involved in my youth group and even spoke in tounges. Heh. I gradually became a liberal-type Christian during high school. My high school boyfriend was agnostic, and he exposed me to other views, I guess. I accepted the theory of evolution when taught it, although I credited god with getting the ball rolling. I didn't believe being homosexual was always a choice and eventually stopped thinking there was anything sinful about it. I was quite opposed to abortion and euthenasia, though. I also enjoyed learning about other religions, neo-paganism in particular. It was on a Wiccan woman's personal website that I found a "proselytizing form," which she requested be filled out if anyone was genuinely interested in saving her soul (since she recognized that a few Christians witness out of compassion). Anyway, I had no interest in trying to covert her, but I was curious about the questions she had and so I read the form. And had my faith shattered. I don't recall any specific questions specifically because my memory is not great. But there were questions about contradictions, etc., and why god sometimes behaved like a "sadistic asshole." I had never been exposed to such thinking, and the fact that I couldn't answer the questions in a satisfactory way bothered me. Long story short, I could no longer accept Christianity. I was still spiritual for a bit, and sometimes I still sort of am... I guess really I'm agnostic now. Sometimes I feel pantheistic, but in a naturalistic sort of way... I went through depression after leaving my religion, and felt lost and purposeless. It's over 3 years since, and at times I still get depressed about it. My parents don't know about my change of beliefs, and I really don't want them to. Anyway, I've been lurking for ages and thought I'd say hello. I'm glad this site is on the go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caretaker Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Welcome, Evergreen! You will find a great place here with great people! Say... Are you from Washington, the Evergreen State? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evergreen Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Thanks for the welcome! But, nope, not from Washington. I am from the lovely province of Newfoundland, in Canada. Ever heard a Newfie joke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caretaker Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Hmmmm.. Nope... Let's hear it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taphophilia Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Hi Evergreen, Welcome here. This is a great place. Lots of people here have been in your shoes and understand the frustrations of having family that believes and not being able to tell them you don't accept their religion any longer. We're an eclectic bunch who support each other in all the ups and downs. Look forward to getting to know you. Taph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evergreen Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Ok. Newfies are steryotyped as being dumb. We aren't really, it's just a lot of our older folks are uneducated, as so many of them made their living from fishing (I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but just in case you don't know anything about NL, it's an island). "Two Newfies were visiting the mainland and driving to Toronto. They drove for days, and eventually they came to a road sign that read 'Toronto - LEFT.' So they turned around and drove home." That joke cracks me up! Thanks, Taph. I can be kind of shy, so it'll probably take me awhile before I post much, but I really enjoy reading the threads and just realizing that I am not alone in my ex-Christian-ness. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ nivek ♦ Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Hiya evergreen! Welcome to ExC. GLad youve taken time to lurk and read a bit. Bail in, enjoy the Community of varied and different people that land here. Good to have ya, newfie and all.. kevinL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godlessgrrl Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Welcome, evergreen. Loved the Newfie joke, that's great! I'm sort of a pantheistic agnostic pagan, so I get a piece of where you're at. Finding a sense of purpose after the loss of faith can be a toughie, too. Good luck, looking forward to more posts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
☆ TexasFreethinker ☆ Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Welcome Evergreen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evergreen Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Thanks, everyone, for the welcomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gliph Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Glad to have you here... us n00bs should stick together. lol Hmm... candadian jokes... the only ones i know are about loonies and twofers. hahaha. j/k I can definitely understand your feelings of depression. I'm just starting to realize that mine has been going on for some time now as I try and understand all of this. I think this is a great place to be though with a ton of support from a world wide group of people. I hope you are as glad to be here as I am... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highvoltage Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Welcome evergreen! Glad to have you with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Helmet Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Welcome Evergreen! Yep I know lots of Newfie jokes, I'm your neighbourly Québécois! Drop by the Totally Off Topic forums for some fun if you get tired of the fundies, long live the TPAM thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasemonkey Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Hi Evergreen! I had about 5 years of depression after my deconversion. That was back in the 80's mostly. I tried a lot of different belief systems before I kind of grounded in a quasi-humanist outlook. The annalect's of Confucius helped a little, and weird though it may sound, Carlos Castaneda's books. Not for his spirituality, but for his emphasis on finding out "what is important." In my case, it turned out that religion or belief in gods just wasn't really that important to me; getting rid of the fear of the boogeyman in the sky WAS! (to me as a kid, God was MUCH more scary than the devil!) I was a southern-baptist preachers kid ...wanna know a lark?! We were told that pentecostals "speaking in tongues" was actually that they were allowing themselves to be possessed by demons!!! crazy shit! We worry about organized religion, yet they are thier own worst enemy. good luck & I hope to see you around! GM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Welcome Evergreen, and may your journey and endeavors on this site be just as green. Uuuuh, I'm not sure what I exactly meant with that, but I thought it sounded cool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evergreen Posted December 10, 2005 Author Share Posted December 10, 2005 Thanks, again, for all the welcomes! Greasemonkey - that is funny!! So, are Southern Baptists and Pentecostals enemies or something? *laughs* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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